Detroit Rejoices After Population Decline Finally Comes To An End

There was a time, early in the 1920s, when Detroit was the fourth-biggest city in the United States, behind only New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

This was in the early 1920s, when Detroit was firmly established as the world's automative capital. Names like Ford, Chrysler and Dodge all set up shop in Detroit, and the resulting boom drew people from all across the country, as they were looking for good jobs in the suddenly exploding automative industry.

As a result of this rapid industrial growth, the Detroit River became known as the "Greatest Commercial Artery on Earth", as many tens of millions of tons of shipping commerce floated down the Detroit River every year.

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Following the conclusion of the Second World War, Detroit continued to do well, as America switched from a war-time economy to a booming post-war economy.

This meant that Detroit continued to do well in the years following the war, and their population topped out at 1,849,568 in the 1950 Census.

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Things started to move off the rails in the 1950s, as the automative industry began to mature.

In a maturing industry, winners and losers soon appear, and the winners of the automative phenomenon ended up swallowing the losers.

This resulted in less competition, which resulted in fewer jobs in the automative industry.

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Starting in 1957, the population of Detroit started a slow and painful multi-decade decline, which would only come to an end in 2023.

With the automative industry not offering the jobs that it once did, many transient workers ended up leaving the city/state for opportunities elsewhere.

Many middle-class residents of Detroit decided to move into the suburbs. At one point, roughly a third of the residents of Michigan lived in Detroit - this concentration dropped considerably as many people stayed within Michigan but left Detroit.

These patterns resulted in a rapidly eroding tax base in the city of Detroit, which resulted in less money for everything.

Crime spiked. Properties went abandoned. More companies left. More people left.

Detroit would become trapped in an endless loop for decades, as more residents left, leaving less tax money to be spent on the city.

Things would come to a head on July 18th, 2013, when the city of Detroit would file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

The city of Detroit had transformed from a thriving industrial metropolis to a bankrupt shell of its previous self.

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After years of population declines, Detroit is finally back to growth mode.

In fact, Detroit is now the 26th largest city in the United States, moving up from the 29th spot last year.

A number of companies in emerging technology fields, such as life sciences and advanced manufacturing, are based in Detroit, and these companies are helping to lure people back into the city.

A growing population will result in a growing tax base, and this should help to attract more people to the city.

After decades of struggle, the city of Detroit finally seems to have turned the corner.

Filed under: General Knowledge